Feeding device for button-hole sewing-machines



4 Sheets-Sheet 1- E. S. PEROT. Feeding Device for Button Hole Sewing Machines. "No. 240,178. Patented April 12,1881.

- INVENTOR ATTORj lilfi:

N. PETERS. PMOTO-UTHOGRAPHER. WASHINGTbN. u E

4 Sheets-Sheet 2.

E. S. PEROT. Pe'eding Device for Button Hole Sewing Machines. No. 240,178. I Patented April 12,1881.

W1 T/VESSES:

N-FETERS, PNOTO-LITHOGRAPHER, WASHINGTON. Dv C) 4 Sheets-Sheet 3.

E. S. PEROT. Feeding Device for' Button Hole Sewing Machines. NO. 2407178. P ented April 12,188I.

WITNESSES INVEN T OR,

l wrrma FHOTO-LITHOGRAPHEP, WASHINGTON. DV 9.

,4 Sheets-Sheet 4.

ELSVPERO'T, Feeding Device for Button Hole Sewing Machines. No. 240,17 Patented -Ap ril l2, I881.

My :WITNESSES: v I INVENTOR) My a M ATTOR ,NIP EIERS. PNOTO LITHDGRAPHER. WASHINGTON, D c

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

EDWARDS. PEROT, OF PHILADELPHIA, PENNSYLVANIA.

FEEDING DEVICE FOR BUTTON-HOLE SEWING-MACHINES.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 240,178, dated April 12, 1881. Application filed November 8, 1879.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, EDWARD S. PEROT, of Philadelphia, in the county of Philadelphia and State of Pennsylvania, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Feeding Devices for Button-Hole Sewing-Machines; and I do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the invention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it pertains to make and use it, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, which form part of this specification, and in which- Figure 1 is a side elevation of the forward 1 end of a sewing-machine with my improved button-hole feeding mechanism applied thereto. Figs. 2 and 3 are respectively vertical sections on lines or w and y 3 Fig. 16. Fig. 4. is an inverted plan of myinvention. Fig.5 is a plan showing first position of the cloth-plate and gear mechanism at the commencement of the stitching of one of the straight edges or sides of the button-hole. Fig. 6 is a like view of the cloth-plate in its second position, the stitching of one of the straight sides being completed, said plate being about to be revolved in the direction of the arrow. Fig. 7 is a like view of said plate in its third position, said revolution being completed and the eye of the button-hole stitched and the remaining straight side of the button-hole in position to be operated upon. Fig. 8 is a like view of said plate in its fourth or last position, the

stitching of the button-hole being completed. Fig. 9 is a diagram showing the movement of the cloth-plate and button-hole when operated by the feeding mechanism, the arrows l 1 showing the path of movement during the. stitching of the first straight side of the button-hole, the arrows 2 2 indicating said movement when the eye is being stitched, arrows 3 3' when the remaining straight side is being stitched, and arrows 4 4 when the cloth-plate is being moved by hand to its original first position. Fig. 10 is a perspective of the clothplate. Fig. 11 is a perspective of a section of the bed-plate. Fig. 12 is a perspective of the slotted revolving plate. Fig. 13 is a perspec- 'tive of the gear mechanism. Fig. 14 is a perspective of the segmental guide-plate. Fig. 15 is a perspective of the sliding guide-plate.

. after fully set forth and claimed.

Fig. 16 is a plan of the feeding devices with cloth-plate removed. Fig. 17 is a perspective of the ratchet-and-pawl mechanism, and Fig. 18 is a perspective of the presser-foot.

My invention has for its object to provide means whereby cloth, leather, or other material may be fed in the outline of a button-hole,

so as to dispense with the guidance of an operator in working button-holes on a sewingmachine.

My improvements have reference particularly to machines employing two needles, one of which works downward from above, the other working upward from below, the clothplate; but they may be used with any other class of machines to which they are adapted.

My improvements consist in the peculiar construction and combination of parts herein- In the accompanying drawings, A indicates the bed-plateofa button-hole sewing-machine;

B, its main shaft; 0, its presser-bar; D, its upper, and E its lower, needle-lever. F is the upper needle-bar, which has a loop-spreader, F. The foregoing parts are already in use, and form in themselves no part of my invention.

My improvements relate principally to the feed, or to means whereby the fabric or mate- 8o rial in which the button-hole is to be worked (said material being clamped on a movable cloth-plate) shall be fed in the line of abutton-hole.

Gr represents a cloth-plate, which rests on the bed-plate of the machine, and has an elongated slot or throat, 9, through which the needles work upand down.

H represents another plate, circular in outline, which fits truly in a circular recess in the under side of the bed-plate A, so as to be capable of rotation therein, a segmental stationary shelf, a, consisting of a portion of said bed-plate, dividing said plates G and H. The plate H has a central circular opening, h, a straight slot, h, which leads 0E radially therefrom, and two parallel slots, 7L2 7L2.

I represents a peculiar-shaped gear-wheel, consisting of two approximately U -formed sections, 1 1 whose open ends lap. The sec- 1 tion I has two slots, 2" z", and two studs, 6%, and the section I has two studs, i i which enter said slots 2" i. Said section I has also another stud, i locatedat or about its middle, and on its opposite side a square lug, t Screws 9' g, which pass down from the plate G into the studs i i i, serve to hold the sections 1 I together, and to fasten them to said plate G, so that the latter will partake of the movement of the gear I. The studs 2'' i i pass through the slots h 71. in the plate H, as shown, so that the gear I may move in or be guided by said plate, and that the latter and said gear may at times rotate together, as hereinafter set forth.

K is a segmental plate secured to the under side of the cloth-plate A, being designed and adapted to support the mechanism through the medium of which motion is communicated from the main shaft to the feed-gear I, and which serves as well as a guide for said gear, as hereinafter specified. Said plate K is a segment of a circle. Its ends 70 7c are straight, and if continued to meet would form an angle of about one hundred and thirty-five degrees. Said ends coincide with radii of acircle described from the same center as the periphery of said plate K.

L is a ratchet-wheel having hearings in a frame, L, which is fastened on the segment K, having on its axis a pinion, l, which meshes with the gear I.

M is a slide, to which a longitudinally-reciprocating movement is communicated from an eccentric on the main shaftB by a connecting-rod, B, and N is a lever fulcrumed on the shaft of the ratchet-wheel L. Said lever carries at one end a stud, a, which enters a slot, m, in the slide M, and at the other end a spring-pawl, n, which is adapted to engage with the teeth of the ratchet-wheel L. The longitudinal motion of the slide causes the lever to vibrate, an d produces an intermittentrotation of the ratchet-wheel, imparting move ment through the medium of the pinion Z to the gear I and plates G H.

0 represents a sliding plate, which is sustained below the guide-plate K, and whose outer edge, 0, conforms to the curve of the periphery of the ratchet-wheel L. Said plate carries on its inner end a stud provided with an anti friction roller, 0, which enters the opening or cam-slot l in the gear I and bears against the side of the same, being held thereto by a spring, 0 secured to the end of said plate and to the bed-plate A, as shown. The slot in the gear I is of the peculiar form shown, having two concave or rounded ends,jj, two straight sides,j 3' of unequal length, and a beveled shoulder, j, terminating the side j 1? represents the clampin g-jaw, consisting of a plate fastened to the plate G by a set-screw, eccentric-lever, or other equivalent means, so as to be capable of being pressed down firmly on said plate G and of being lifted therefrom when desired. Said clamping-jaw P has a slot, 19, registering with the throat g in the cloth-plate G. The material to be stitched is held upon the plate G by the clamping-jaw P, the button-hole in such material being between the throat g and slot 1).

R is the resser-foot, adaptedand designed to bear upon the clamping-jaw P, and formed with a toe, s, of vertical depth less than the thickness of said clamp. Said toe passes down into the slot 1), as shown in Fig. 18, so as to restjust above the fabric held by the clamp, and is designed to prevent said fabric from being lifted by the upper needle on its upward movement.

The operation is as follows: The parts being adjusted to begin work, the stitching is started at one end of one of the straight sides of the button-hole. The mechanism is then in the posi tion shown by dotted lines in Fig.5, the pinion l meshing with the gear I at the end of one of its straight sides, the roller-stud 0 occupying the location shown, permitting the sliding plate 0 to be drawn out by the spring 0 so that the pawl a will be held out of engagement with the ratchet wheel L by the edge 0 as said pawl passes along said edge. The extent of vibration of the lever N is sufficient, however, to carry the pawl past the sliding plate 0, so that at each vibration of said lever a tooth of the ratchet-wheel L is engaged by the pawl n and said ratchet is moved the distance of one of its teeth. The motion of the ratchet-wheel is imparted to the pinion Z, and as the latter is in gear with the wheel I, said wheel is moved in the manner of a rack-4. 0., in a straight line forward. This motion continues, the clothplate G, with its clamp and the fabric on it, being carried along with the gear I, and the studs t 5 traversing the slots h h until they reach the end thereof. At the same time the square lug i on the gear I is moving inward along the end 76 of the segmental guide-plate K. When the studs 17 i have reached the ends of their slots the lug t has' cleared the side It of the guide-plate K and the pinion l is just about entering into mesh with the teeth on the round end i of the gear I. The roller 0 has also reached the point i of the gear I, where, owing to the shape of the cam-slot 1 it is pressed inward, drawing back the sliding plate 0, so that the edge 0 of the latter will no longer prevent the engagement of the pawl a with the ratchet-wheel L. The effect is that the pawl then engages, at the commencement of its for ward vibration, with the ratchet-wheel L, and moves the latter a distance equal to twelve of its teeth. The gear I, now being free to rotate, (by reason of its lugt' being clear of the straight side 76 of the guide-plate K,) does so, carrying around the plate G, and with it the plate H, the needles then stitching the eye of the but ton-hole. When the plate has accomplished about five-eighths of a revolution the pinion Z arrives at the first tooth of the opposite straight side of the gear I and the lug t clears the inside circular edge, 70 of the guide-plate K, as shown in Figs. 4 and 16. At the same time the roller 0' meets the beveled shoulder j in the cam-slot I The sliding plate 0 is thereupon drawn out to its normal position by the spring 0 holding the pawl at out of engagement with the ratchet-wheel L during a greater part of of its movement. The gear I, being out of center, cannot now rotate, and hence moves in a straight line, the plate H remaining stationary, the studs 73 i i traversing its slots 71/ 71, and the lug t impinging against or traveling along and being guided by the side k of the segmental guide-plate K. This works the other or return straight side of the button-hole.

The object of arranging the sliding plate 0 so as to allow the pawl a to take up only one tooth of the ratchet while the pinion meshes with the straight sides of the gear, and a great number when it gearswith the circular end, is to make the spacing of the stitching around the eye of the button-hole uniform or even with the stitching on the sides. Then the button-hole has been thus stitched it still requires finishing to take up or fasten the loose ends of the thread, which is done by hand. Hence the machine does not stitch around the lower end of a button-hole, as it does the eye, so that the parts of the feed, when the buttonhole work is completed, (so far as it is completed,) are not in position to begin stitching the straight side of a fresh button-hole. To bring them into such position the plate G is taken hold of by hand and turnedaround to its normal or original location.

To adjust the feed for different lengths of button-holes the screws g g are duly moved in the holes 9 g in the plate G,-the sections I 1 being correspondingly moved upon each other to shorten or lengthen the gear 1, as may be required.

What I claim as my invention is 1. In a sewing-machine feed, the gear-wheel 1, formed of two relatively-adjustable sections, 1 1 substantially as shown and described.

2. In combination with the bed-plate A of a sewing-machine, the. cloth-plate G, located above, and gear-wheel I, located below, said plate, said plate G and wheel being secured to one another, so as to move together, as set forth.

3. In combination with cloth plate G, the gear-wheel I, formed of two relatively-adjustable sections, whereby the extent of movement of said plate may be varied to suit different lengths of button-holes, substantially as described.

4. In combination with bed-plate A, having segmental shelf a, plates G and H, located respectively above and below said shelf, gear I, having studs "5 t i, and stationary guideplatc K, having straight ends 70 k, substantially as shown and set forth.

5. In a sewing-machine feed, the combination, with shaft B, carrying an eccentric, and connecting-rod B, of slide M, lever N, carrying stud n and pawl 11., and ratchet-wheel L, substantially as shown and described.

6. The combination, with gear I, having cam-slot 1 of pinion Z, ratchet-wheel L, lever N, carrying pawl n, means for vibrating said lever N, slide 0, carrying roller-stud o, and spring 0 whereby, when said pinion is meshing with the teeth on the straight sides of" said gear, said pawl is held out of engagement with the teeth of the ratchet, and said slide withdrawn when the pinion and circular end of gear are in mesh.

In testimony that I claim the foregoing I have hereunto set my hand this 3d day of November, 1879.

EDWARD S. PEROT.

Witnesses:

M. D. OQNNOLLY, CHAS. F. VAN HORN. 

